That Word
by NeonLit
Summary: Since Toneri swept Hinata away from Naruto under the pretense of marriage, Naruto has been touchy about that one particular word.


_Oneshots are fun. If you're waiting for chapters for some of my other longer works, they're coming soon, I've just been up to my gills in drama. (Breakups woo)._

* * *

><p>Naruto Uzumaki stood outside of the Hyuuga complex, waiting quietly for Hinata, scuffing his heels back and forth, roughly kicking some pebbles around. The slight creaking of the doors made him raise his head and he looked up, his blue eyes widening slightly. A smile graces his face as he sees his love coming towards him, her own eyes glittering with that usual bright light that he'd come to love. For so many years, he'd been forced to endure dead eyes by everyone who'd surrounded him and those eyes still haunted him. Even in his socially inept early teens, Hinata's eyes glittering the way they did had stuck with him and he'd always taken a bit of comfort from them.<p>

"Naruto-kun!" Her voice rings out and it reminds him of tinkling wind-chimes that adorn the houses of the elderly in the village. The pair gently embraced, Hinata nuzzling her head into his chest, and Naruto resting his chin upon the crown of her head. For a while, they simply sway in the gentle breeze, before drawing apart and locking their hands together, his bandaged hand gripping hers. As they take off through the village, Hinata taking the lead, babbling aimlessly about Tenten, the team meet up she'd had with Kiba and Shino, how adorable and tough Kurenai's daughter was turning out to be. Naruto just cruised with the conversation, still feeling a little hungover from his late-night drinking session with Sasuke, who'd returned from an intensive mission. Several bottles of sake later, and the two men had been hugging whilst cheering about the old days, before being booted out the doors of the bar, much to their disappointment. Sasuke had straightened his outfit, before taking off, claiming to have 'business' to attend to. The other man knew very well that 'business' referred to a pink-haired kunoichi, and attending… didn't need to be thought about. He'd wandered aimlessly, before getting back to his home.

He starts to tune back in, hearing Hinata directly talking about him. "So then, this time, that Hyuuga clan member is getting **married**." And with that, a chill runs through him. He felt his legs stop moving, his entire body freezing cold, as if he was caught in that horrible cold from the ice that Haku had made all those years ago. A few solemn droplets of water ran down his face, dripping gently off, and he disjointedly wondered if it was raining. It was only then that he realised that the water droplets were not, in fact, from the sky, but rather, streaming from his eyes. Hinata's voice cut out and she spun on her heel, sensing that something was wrong. Her white eyes widened, stretching out to their maximum. It hurt him, seeing this woman that he cared so much about being in pain and shock.

"Wh-what's wrong, Naruto-kun?" As she always does, her pensive eyes look deep, going straight through those facades he puts up with such regularity. A whirlwind of emotions rushes inside him and he can't hold it off any more and it rises up into his chest, strangling his lungs. It almost feels like he's drowning on dry land, his lungs filling with a burning sensation that he can barely stand. Hinata's saying something but he can barely hear it over the whispers in his head, and the vision of Toneri, smirking and promising to marry her. He can barely stand to hear it, to even think about that horrible night again. Bitterly he opens his eyes and clenches his stomach tight.

"Hey Hinata…" The words come out so tight, strangled, feeling as if razors sharp edges were lining his throat. "Don't get married."

The look of shock on Hinata's face is horrible. It stabs into his heart, barbed and brutal. However the expression which replaced it was calming. A gentle hand wraps into his sweater and pulls him close. "Na-Naruto-kun! Th… That's not what I was talking about." He looks down, into her upturned face, her eyes slightly watering with tears, and he starts to feel his own tears dry up. "I don't want to marry someone else, silly. Just you, one day." The corners of his mouth twitch and he pulls her in and feels his eyes start to dry. She's always been good at saying the right things at the right time, and sometimes, that's all you need.


End file.
